This invention relates in general to dump trucks and more particularly to a load enhancer which allows a dump truck to carry a heavier load than normal without interfering with the ability of the dump truck to dump its load.
Load enhancing arrangements have been developed for use with concrete trucks and other types of trucks in order to allow the truck to be loaded more heavily than usual, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,112,100 to Prichard and U.S. Pat. No. 3,191,961 to Brennan et al, for example. This type of apparatus includes an added frame which is mounted on the back end of the vehicle and which may be lowered to bring its wheels onto the roadway so that the added frame bears part of the load of the vehicle, thus distributing the load over an additional axle and allowing the vehicle to carry a heavier load than it legally or safely could without the additional axle. When the added frame is not needed to bear part of the vehicle load, it may be pivoted upwardly and stored. In the stored position of the added frame, the overall length of the vehicle is not increased significantly and its maneuverability is not restricted appreciably.
Despite the recognized advantages of load enhancing equipment of this type, it has not in the past been applicable to dump trucks. The added frame members are located behind the vehicle where they would interfere in an unacceptable way with the ability of the truck to dump its contents. Because of this, it has not been thought to be feasible to apply load enhancing equipment to a dump truck, and dump trucks have not been able to take advantage of the increased load carrying capacity that such equipment offers.